Official Tourist Information Site of the Piacenza local editorial office

ILL LÜMÄGH ( the snails) DE.CO

Municipal denomination De.Co
Comune
Bobbio

Typical dish for the Christmas Eve. The snails were picked up during the winter season, while they are hibernating and operculated they don’t need to be purged.

It’s one of the five De.Co certified products of Bobbio (Piacenza Municipality) in 2019.
The tradition says that the stewed escargots represent the typical dish for the Christamas Eve.
They are picked up with a proper hoe shaped tool during a specific period, from the 1st of November to the end of February.
The municipal ordinance, made it in 1987, prohibits their collection after this months, protecting and saving them during their reproduction time.

Recipe

TYPOLOGY
Second course
DIFFICULTY
easy
INGREDIENTS

snails
salt
vinegar
oil
onions (or leeks)
parsley
pepper
yellow flour
celery
carrots
extra virgin olive oil
dry white wine

PREPARATION

Preparation: Boil the water in a big pot, with a bit of salt and the baking soda, adding the snails and leave them boiling for twenty minutes. Drain them and with a little fork or a hook shaped tool, pull off the snail from the shell.
Take off the end of the spiral, which connects the snails to the shell, and take off the little “tooth” that can be felt by touch.
Wash the snails repeatedly in warm water, until you will take off their stickiness. After that, you will roll them into the cornmeal with vinegar, lastley wash them again with white wine and salt. Leave the snails frolling for two or three days in a cool spot.

Cooking: Before eating them, it’s necessary to prepair a stir-fry with oil, fat, sliced leeks and a chopped onion;  add to it the snails and the salt, cooking everything for one hour on a slow fire.

The original recipe from Bobbio calls for the snails resting in a cold spot for one night, in the covered pot.
The day after you should add the chopped celery and carrots, the tomato sauce, letting them cooking slowly on a low fire ( a pair of hours), in the meanwhile you should add the warm water or the broth and more salt and pepper in case.  The dayafter end the cooking slowly utill you will reach the right density.

further information


ADDRESS
Piazza San Francesco - Bobbio


WEBSITE
visitpiacenza.it/val-trebbia/

EMAIL
iat@comune.bobbio.pc.it

PHONE
+39.0523.962815